Ultrasound-guided interventional procedures typically rely on ultrasound images for real-time position data of an interventional device, such as a catheter, or an implantable device, such as a stent, in order to properly position and orient the interventional device. However, the presence of the interventional device may create a shadow region that has an undesirable effect on the ultrasound image used by a clinician to guide the interventional device. The interventional device may scatter or reflect much of the acoustic energy used to generate the image, thus making it difficult or impossible to accurately visualize structure in the portion of the image based on data acquired from the shadow region. Due to the scattering and reflection caused by the interventional device, it may be difficult to determine if a portion of the image is generated from reliable data acquired from outside the shadow region or from unreliable data acquired from the shadow region. This may be even more problematic when viewing arbitrary cut-planes or volume renderings generated from 3D or 4D data due to the added difficulty of remaining oriented with respect to the original acquisition geometry.
For these and other reasons an improved method and ultrasound imaging system for identifying data acquired from a shadow region is desired.